Civic technology companies

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Civic technology companies are platforms, products, and services that facilitate civic engagement. [1] [ unreliable source? ] [2] [ unreliable source? ] [3] [ unreliable source? ] Civic technology encompasses any type of technology that enables greater participation in government affairs, or "assists government in delivering citizen services and strengthening ties with the public". [4] [ unreliable source? ] The phrase can essentially be used to describe any company that is concerned with improving the quality, access, and efficiency of government services within the political system through technological means. [2] [ unreliable source? ] Although similar, Civic Technology is different from Government Technology. [5] [ unreliable source? ] Civic technology seeks to connect citizens with each other or with their government. [6] [ unreliable source? ] Government Technology primarily seeks to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of governments' internal operations. [5] [ unreliable source? ] Although the term can be used differently, Government Technology can also be classified as a subcategory within civic technology due to the indirect benefits citizens gain from government efficiency. [7] [ unreliable source? ]

Contents

Categories of these companies

Most current civic technology companies fall under a few categories. First is Government Technology, which is technology used by nations to either increase the efficiency of their operations or to enhance their connection to citizens. [7] [ unreliable source? ] Another category is Advocacy, which is made up of civic technology companies used for political or social purposed by non-government groups. [7] [ unreliable source? ] The last main category is Voting, which encompasses companies that seek to improve voting systems. [7] [ unreliable source? ]

Civic technology organizations

Platform NameFounderDates CreatedOpen SourceCorporate Structure
VotingWorks Ben Adida2018OpenNon-profit
Pol.is OpenNon-profit
Gov TechJacqueline Poh [8] 2016OpenNon-Profit
Bang the TableMatthew Crozier and Crispin Butteriss [9] 2008OpenNon-Profit
City InnovateKamran Saddique [10] 2015OpenNon-Profit
Code for America Jennifer Pahlka [11] 2009OpenNon-Profit
coUrbanizeKarin Brandt [12] 2013OpenNon-Profit
OpenGovZachary Bookman [13] 2012OpenNon-Profit
AccelaGary Kovacs [14] 2018OpenFor-Profit
CityBaseMike Duffy [15] 2013OpenNon-Profit
MuniSightGreg Berger [16] 2017OpenFor-Profit
NavaRohan Bhobe2015OpenPublic Benefit Corporation (PBC)
NextdoorNirav Tolia, Sarah Leary, Prakash Janakiraman and David Wiesen [17] 2008OpenNon-Profit
Fiscal Note Timothy Hwang, Gerald Yao, and Jonathan Chen [18] 2013OpenFor-Profit
MaptionnaireMaarit Kahila, Anna Broberg [19] 2011NotFor-Profit

Division of funding by company type

Data on investment provided for civic technology companies from 2011 to 2013 offers insight into the current landscape of these technology companies. Data collected by the Knight Foundation in this time period analyzed the difference in funding between Open Government and Community Action civic technology companies. [20] The Knight Foundation defines Open Government oriented companies as promoting citizen participation in government and Community Action companies as technology companies seeking to empower and unify citizens with a bottom-down approach. [20] Of investment in this time period, Community Action civic technology companies received more funds than Open Government oriented civic technology companies. [20] Within Community Action companies, Neighborhood Forums and P2P Local Sharing received most of the investment funds. [20] Within Open Government civic technology companies, Data Access & Transparency companies and Resident Feedback companies received the largest share of investments within the Open Government category. [20]

Illustration of 3 main sections of civic technology companies. Inspiration from Samsonowa&Partners infographic Civic tech companies graphic.png
Illustration of 3 main sections of civic technology companies. Inspiration from Samsonowa&Partners infographic

See also

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Civic technology, or civic tech, enhances the relationship between the people and government with software for communications, decision-making, service delivery, and political process. It includes information and communications technology supporting government with software built by community-led teams of volunteers, nonprofits, consultants, and private companies as well as embedded tech teams working within government.

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Go Vocal (formerly CitizenLab) is a Belgian civic tech company that builds citizen engagement platforms for local governments. The company was founded in 2015 by Wietse Van Ransbeeck, Aline Muylaert, and Koen Gremmelprez. Go Vocal uses a cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) model to provide local governments with readymade platforms and tools for collecting and managing citizen input.

Accela is an American private government technology company. It was established in 1999 as a result of a merger with Sierra Computer Systems and Open Data Systems. Accela's platform is used by state and local government agencies in the United States and in other countries.

References

  1. ↑ Rowley, Jason (12 October 2016). "Civic Tech Faces Uphill Battle In Work To Build A Better Government And Society". MatterMark. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 mheadd (16 April 2015). "Civic Tech: Days of Future Past". Civic.io. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Civic Ninjas. "Twitter List of Companies in Knight Foundation's Report on Civic Tech". Civic Ninjas. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Wood, Colin (15 August 2016). "What is Civic Tech?". Gov Tech. eRepublic. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  5. 1 2 "What's the Difference Between "Civic Tech" and "GovTech"?". CitizenLab's Blog. 2019-08-29. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  6. ↑ "Exploring Civic Tech and Gov Tech - WeSolve". 20 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Poppert, Derek (2021-05-07). "Navigating the field of civic tech". Tradecraft. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  8. ↑ "About Us". GovTech. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  9. ↑ "Bang the Table – Participedia". participedia.net. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  10. ↑ "Team". www.cityinnovate.com. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  11. ↑ "Jennifer Pahlka". Code for America. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  12. ↑ Spanring, Christian. "coUrbanize | Press & Awards | Read about the work we're doing". coUrbanize. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  13. ↑ "About OpenGov - The Leader in Cloud Technology for Government". OpenGov. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  14. ↑ Gary, Kovacs. "Gary Kovacs Linkedin Page".
  15. ↑ John, Pletz (2019-07-10). "Tech 50 - Mike Duffy, 41". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  16. ↑ Falconer, Justin (2017-05-04). "Announcing MuniSight!". MuniSight. Retrieved 2022-10-26.
  17. ↑ "Join Nextdoor, an app for neighborhoods where you can get local tips, buy and sell items, and more". nextdoor.com. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  18. ↑ "Global Policy and Market Intelligence". FiscalNote. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  19. ↑ "About Maptionnaire, Citizen Engagement Platform". Maptionnaire. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 "Knight Foundation: Trends in Civic Tech". www.knightfoundation.org. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
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